Press Releases

1. On November 1 (October 31 local time), in New York, the draft Resolution on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects, which was submitted under the leadership of Japan, Colombia and South Africa, and the draft Resolution on the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), which Japan submitted as the country holding the presidency of the next Conference of States Parties, were adopted by the First Committee of the United Nations General Assembly, the former by consensus and the latter by an overwhelming majority.

2. The draft Resolution on Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects stipulates the holding of the Third United Nations Review Conference of the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects (PoA) in June 2018 in New York so that each country will make further domestic regulatory efforts based on the PoA in order to eliminate illicit trade in small arms and light weapons, including their transfer to terrorists, and emphasizes the importance of the implementation of PoA to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

3. The draft Resolution on the ATT welcomes the decision taken at the Third Conference of States Parties in September 2017, and notes that the Fourth Conference of States Parties is to be held in Japan in August 2018, as well as encourages the effective implementation of the Treaty and the reporting for the implementation of national measures, and calls upon all States that have not yet done so to ratify, accept, approve or accede to the Treaty, according to their respective constitutional processes.

4. These draft resolutions are scheduled to be adopted in a plenary meeting of the UN General Assembly in early December. Japan intends to continue to play a leading and constructive role in international efforts for disarmament in conventional arms, which contributes to the peace and security of the international community, while being mindful of the fact that the two draft resolutions are closely interrelated. Japan also intends to advance preparations for holding the Fourth Conference of the States Parties to the ATT in August 2018 in Japan.